1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable open-ended wrench. More specifically, the present invention relates to an adjustable open-ended wrench with a jaw formation having a nut-receiving opening therein in which the shims are slidably received to adjust the nut-receiving opening dimensions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore various open-ended wrenches have been proposed including shims or slide members which are slid into or rotated into position within a nut-receiving opening of the jaw of the wrench to adjust the size of the nut receiving opening.
In this respect, a wrench very similar to the wrench of the present invention is disclosed in applicant's earlier application Ser. No. 956,871 filed on Nov. 1, 1978, and issued on Dec. 9, 1980 to U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,756.
The open-ended wrench of the present invention is an improvement over the wrench disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,756, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the disclosure in this patent, steel shims of substantially equal length were first punched out of a piece of rolled stock and, at one end of each shim, a portion thereof was displaced by a stamping or swagging operation so that on one planar surface of each shim there is a projection and on the opposite planar surface there is a recess into which a projection of an adjacent shim is received. The projections were made by punching halfway through the steel shim. The shims were then arranged on a shelf behind the jaw formation of the wrench in a nesting arrangement in position for movement through a slot in the jaw formation to a nut-receiving opening of the jaw formation to adjust the dimension of the nut-receiving opening.
The manner of forming the shims described above had some deficiency since the punched or stamped projection at 90.degree. to the plane of each shim placed stress on the shims to the extent that the punched projections often broke off.
Additionally, because of the manufacturing tolerance of the shims, it was difficult to provide suitable vertical stacking and nesting of the shims.
Also, it was found to be desirable to provide some means for easily and releasably locking the shims in place within the nut-receiving opening.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the open-ended adjustable wrench of the present invention provides a shim construction which can be simply formed in one stamping operation and one which provides for good vertical stacking and nesting of the shims and provides a simple, easily releasable locking means for releasably locking the shims in place.